Qtel rebrands as regional expansion gathers pace

Doha, February 26, 2013

Qatar Telecom (Qtel) will change its brand name to Ooredoo, the company said in a statement, bringing in the change across it operations in the Middle East, Africa and Asia over the next two years.

It said all operations in which it owns a controlling interest would be rebranded under the new name, which means "I want" in Arabic, according to the statement.

Over the past 12 months, the company has increased its stakes in Iraq's Asiacell to 64 per cent and Kuwait's No2 operator Wataniya to 92.1 per cent. Wataniya also owns 90 per cent of Tunisiana and is the company through which Qtel holds a controlling stake in Algeria's Nedjma.

Qatar Telecom also has a majority holding in Indosat in Indonesia and Oman's Nawras. It is also in talks to acquire Vivendi's 53 per cent stake in Morocco's Maroc Telecom.

"It is our belief that we can better serve our global customers by leveraging the combined resources and assets of a strong, unified global business under one brand," Qatar Telecom chief executive Nasser Marafih said in the statement.

"We also believe that rebranding now will help us to maintain our momentum in the face of new realities for the industry, signalling our commitment to become a global force."

Qtel, majority owned by the Qatar government, has expanded into more than 16 countries Middle East, Africa and Asia. - Reuters